Getting Daughter to go in a public place

[mhausman]

Hello, my daughter refuses to go to the restroom in any public place. Is there anyone that might have any good suggestions for me. I have tried rewards and that still doesn't work. Thank you!

[Zack_Jenn]

Our 3 year old was afraid of the atomatic flush on most public toilets and the suggestion to put sticky notes over the sensor helped some. We also learned that she didn't like them because she felt like she was going to fall in, so we bought one of those travel potty seats that folds into fours to carry with us when we were out. I thought we'd never get rid of the thing, but we forgot it one day and she settled for the paper toilet seat covers. She's been fine ever since.

Our 2 year old was afraid of how poorly lit the stalls were so we carried around a push light to help brighten it up.

You may have already thought of it, but have you asked her why? Both of ours told us exactly what they didn't like and we were able to come up with some solutions. She may just be able to fix your problem for you. Hope you find something that works soon!

[mhausman]

Thanks for the ideas, we have already purchased that type of folding seat and she wants nothing to do with it. We have tried covering up the sensors and yes it seams to work only for a little bit. We did ask her why she doesn't like it and her response was that she was afraid the toliet was going to eat her. We told her that the toilet only wanted her "waste" and not to eat her. We are starting to get concerned, because she is four years old and ready to go to preschool, but until we break her of this she can not go.